We recently connected with Maria Lewis and have shared our conversation below.
Maria, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today. Any thoughts about whether to ask friends and family to support your business. What’s okay in your view?
One of the things I have come to know is that my business, The Sizzleisland Company Limited, is where it is today thanks to God’s blessings, and the ongoing outpouring of love and support from my family and dear friends. I cannot do everything on my own. My loved ones have provided invaluable help to me in a myriad of ways over the years: from spreading the word about Sizzleisland to persons they know, to always gracing me with their encouraging words, and lifting up their prayers. I definitely both welcome, and will continue to draw upon the input from my loved ones, and I give God immense thanks for each and every one of them!
Maria, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Maria Kaffie Lewis, and I come from the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago. I am the CEO and Founder of The Sizzleisland Company Limited. We create, script, produce, film and market movies and television shows, which are steeped in Caribbean culture, with universal themes, primarily in the sphere of romance, fantasy and drama.
Added to this cinematic arm, we handle Digital Marketing, Website Design, and Videography services for corporate and individual clients, who are locally and internationally-based.
Where I am today is as a result of growing up with an absolute passion and love for movies. As a child, my father would always purchase films (firstly VHS tapes, then DVDs) such as The Lion King, Aladdin, Sister Act and A Beautiful Mind. Back in those days (the ’90s), we also belonged to a movie rental club. I remember my Mother also nurturing my siblings’ and my love of movies, by regularly renting films for us. One of my favourites back then was Streetfighter with Jean Claude Van Damme (I remember crying when we had to return it after a week lol).
This love of cinema just continued to grow, with classics being added to my heart’s memory: The Wizard of Oz, All About Eve, The 10 Commandments, The Sound of Music, Funny Girl, Pretty Woman, She’s All That, The Lord of the Rings, The Matrix…and even…White Chicks!
After spending my childhood and teenage years honing my Acting and Creative Writing skills, I went on to attain my Bachelor’s Degree in Film and Drama from The University of Kent; followed by my Master’s Degree in Feature Film Screenwriting from Royal Holloway, University of London. Most recently, I completed a Professional Programme in Acting for the Camera from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
All of these learnings, along with years of experience in Creative fields in the corporate sector (Television, Journalism, Corporate Communications, Advertising and Marketing), have brought me to where I am today: running my own Film and Video Production company, with Digital Marketing & Web Design services.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
Being an artistic or creative person is the best definition of who I am. When I think about myself, and what brings me a profound sense of passion, excitement and joy, I immediately smile at the creative ideas that reside within: primarily for the movies or television shows that I have created, and will one day create by God’s grace.
I firstly thank God for these creative cinematic ideas, followed by the ability to express these ideas in writing. Once they are out of my mind, and written down, I then work toward turning them into cinematic works of art. Due to the very nature of filmmaking though, this isn’t the easiest process. Film as an art form can be expensive. It requires specific technology, and in many instances, it calls for a very good, talented, reliable and committed team.
Nonetheless, having the opportunity to create and complete the television shows and films that began as mere thoughts, has to be the most rewarding aspect of the entire creative process for me. Having the ideas for a movie or television show is exciting. You can sit and muse as it plays out on the screen of your mind…but, this simply pales in comparison to actually watching your shows on an actual screen!
I think this is because when I look back at the films and TV shows that Sizzleisland has produced, I don’t only see the creative ideas come to life, but I also remember and give God thanks for the weeks, months and years of struggle and hard work – pivoting from setbacks and stumbling blocks, and the love and support of my family and my team…that all went into what has become the final cinematic product.
It is this sense of accomplishment – of seeing one’s work of art come to fruition – that is the most rewarding facet of being a creative person for me, because once completed, the films/TV shows are out of my hands. Now, they can hopefully bless and touch people around the world: hopefully not only in my time, but for generations to come.
Have you ever had to pivot?
I think by the very nature of running a business, pivoting is a core skill-set for survival and sustainability. Almost everything I put out into the world, (from films and videos…to the promotional materials to market my business), requires some form of adjustment, tweaking or innovative (re)thinking, in order for it/them to hit the desired mark.
Specifically though, I would say that I had to do some consequential pivoting for my company, Sizzleisland, in 2023. For the past 10 years, I had been gradually building Sizzleisland ‘on the side’. I always had a full-time job, and worked on Sizzleisland in my off-hours. The result was that Sizzleisland was not growing to the degree that I wanted, because I was not able to devote more of my time to it.
In 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, I made the decision to leave my day job, and fully run Sizzleisland. That decision was concretised in my mind. In actuality though, Sizzleisland was still not my focal point. For the next two and a half years, my focus defaulted to trying to acquire some form of employment which I could do remotely and flexibly, in order to ensure that I would have sufficient finances.
What happened was that most of my mind and energy went into finding such work, and Sizzleisland, once again, suffered as the company did not receive my fullest time and attention.
By early 2023, it became apparent that I had to make a decision: either I should continue to straddle working for someone else, whilst working on building Sizzleisland; or I should finally have the faith to commit entirely to Sizzleisland.
I was hesitant, frightened and uncertain to say the least. Sizzleisland was not earning any significant revenue; I had no clear idea as to what services I could successfully offer; and more than anything, I was convinced that I was not in a financial position to step out on my own.
However, that is just what I did. This was a moment of major pivoting for my life. So I did what my parents taught me to do – what I thank God I have done my entire life – I prayed. I specifically asked God to direct me to what I needed to do for Sizzleisland. I prayed for God to show me what services I could provide that were a) for His honour and glory, b) that could help people, c) that were in the sphere of the cinematic arts, and d) that I would absolutely love doing and would bring me profound joy!
The next few days, weeks and months were challenging, but God and my loved ones saw me through! Every idea that came to mind in prayer, I would immediately thank Him for, write it down, and then try my best to execute. Nothing however seemed to move the needle much, but I pressed on with the same course of action: pray for ideas, thank God for the ideas, write down the ideas…and then action the ideas. This went on and on and on – month after month after month.
Very gradually though, things started to change near the end of 2023. I got one important client who sought out Sizzleisland’s services on a regular basis. Then, other opportunities for Sizzleisland started to crop up here and there. I also connected with a dear friend, who is also in a similar boat, and together, we support each other through prayers and business accountability meetings. Additionally, I take advantage of the many entrepreneurial courses that are offered by organisations in Trinidad and Tobago. My family and dear friends have also been integral sources of love and support for me!
I can now say, nine months later, that Sizzleisland is my mainstay. I am not yet where I envisage to be, but by God’s loving grace, I am much, much further (mentally, spiritually and business-wise) from where I was before!
I will keep on keeping on (as one of my dear friends says)!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sizzleisland.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sizzleisland/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sizzleisland
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-k-lewis-0b467572
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ML_Sizzleisland
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mariaatsizzleisland7227
Image Credits
Photographer: Damian Luk Pat